


Alien Kindness

by Fulcrumisthebomb



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-28
Updated: 2013-02-28
Packaged: 2017-12-03 22:09:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/703168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fulcrumisthebomb/pseuds/Fulcrumisthebomb
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ashley is curious as to why Shepard is so accepting of aliens.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Alien Kindness

**Author's Note:**

> My Shepard was a colony kid, daughter of a normal farmer family; when she was 16 Batarian slavers killed her family and friends and enslaved her. With her first encounter with aliens so brutal... why does she fight for diplomacy and a multiracial crew?

"Commander?"

I dropped my head down over the side of the Mako, surprised by the hesitancy in Ashley's voice. I wobbled slightly from overbalancing until Garrus grabbed my ankle, and I grinned briefly at him in thanks. "Yes, Chief?"

Ashley locked her hands behind her back in a formal pose. "May I request a moment, Commander? It isn't urgent."

I waved a hand gaily, forcing Garrus to drag me backwards onto the Mako's hood. "Certainly! Can we talk here? I'm a bit buried in grease and wiring."

"It's... personal, ma'am." Ashley shook her head, turning to leave. "I'll catch you when-,"

"All good, Chief," I urged. "Ask away. I'm an open book to my crew."

Ashley's eyes shifted. Garrus gave a soft cough. I shrugged.

"I don't want to offend present company," Ashley continued slowly, and I laughed when Garrus snorted derisively, ruffling my hair.

"I'm a big boy, Chief Williams," he said dryly. "I doubt anyone but my father could piss me off. Speak freely."

Ashley sighed but relented; she climbed up to sit on one of the Mako's tires, swinging her feet. "I'm curious, Commander, how you've been able to so diplomatically accept a multiracial crew. I- I've read your file, of course, and with the slavers..."

"Slavers?" Garrus frowned- at least, he made an expression I'd come to interpret as such. "What's this?"

I briefly explained my colonist upbringing; as I talked, I watched Wrex shuffle closer to listen in while he cleaned his shotgun. After I was done, I nodded.

"So I understand why you're wondering, Chief," I continued, wiping my face with a cloth. "And I have an excellent answer. See, I was a slave for almost a year before the Alliance patrol found us."

Garrus muttered something I didn't catch, and I didn't ask.

"The patrol was unique in that they had an Asari diplomat and a young Turian soldier, in the interest of improving species relations. It was smaller ship, and couldn't carry all of us to the nearest safe outpost. The Asari remained with the crew and the first half of the survivors, tending the elderly and sick. The turian remained with the rest of us on Mindoir with a handful of Alliance soldiers.

"I... wasn't in the best shape mentally. I wouldn't talk to any of the soldiers, but I emulated them in setting up defenses and handing out supplies. The turian noticed my efficiency and began instructing me how to help the others. One morning he took me aside and told me I would be an exceptional soldier, but first I would have to share my grief and pain. I remember being very angry at that idea; I wanted to work, so I didn't have to think. He let me deny it- and smiled when he told me I had broken my silence and I was on the way to recovery."

Ashley huffed, nodding gently up at me. "That was a smart way to handle it."

"Yes. And he was right." My smile faded as memories swirled, flooding my mind. "Once the second ship arrived to get us, I found myself with very little to do. The ship had its own staff to handle tasks; I was told to relax and try to rest as much as I could. To my horror, I had nothing to distract me from my recent experiences. My turian friend finally found me down in the cargo hold, shivering and incoherent. I ended up telling him everything as he sat beside me, not finishing until well in the night. He listened. He asked. He cared. And I was just a colony kid, y'know? A broken young woman with no future and nothing to recommend her."

"I doubt that," Wrex rumbled. "Even as a kid, he saw your potential. I'd bet you."

My face heated and I rested back so he couldn't see. Garrus was giving me a knowing look, though. "Anyway. It really helped to share my grief. When we landed, he helped all of us survivors get psychotherapy, and later I found he had recommended me personally to then-Commander Hackett for the Alliance Navy."

"That's incredible," Ashley said quietly. "It's amazing he did all that for you with no real reason."

"I think he did," I mused, sitting forward to look down at her. "I think he was looking at a much larger picture. Years later I was told he'd been tracking my accomplishments and record."

"Really?" Garrus nudged my foot. "Has he contacted you?"

"He was going to mentor me," I said soberly. "He wanted me to join the Spectres."

Ashley gasped, pointing at me. "Was _that_ that turian you were trailing on Eden Prime?"

I nodded sadly, sighing as I picked up my wrench to get back to work. "Saren killed him. I wish Nihlus could've seen what he did for me, first human Spectre."


End file.
